Leif Hoegh & Co is teaming with Tractebel LNG North America LLC, to develop a terminal in Massachusetts Bay for the import of natural gas to the U.S.

A deep water port license application will be filed with the U.S. Coast Guard today by Neptune LNG LLC, a subsidiary of Tractebel LNG North America.

The proposed deepwater port terminal will receive natural gas vaporized on board a fleet of three purpose-built LNG carriers, based on a concept developed and launched by Hoegh LNG in 2001.

Leif Hoegh & Co, has more than 30 years experience in LNG shipping worldwide and operates a fleet of LNG vessels including Tractebel LNG North America's vessel the "Matthew" and its own vessel, the "Hoegh Galleon", which is under charter to Tractebel Global LNG, an affiliate of Tractebel LNG North America.

Hoegh LNG has developed the offshore natural gas terminal concept known as the "Shuttle and Regasification Vessel" ("SRV") system.

The SRV system is described as "an attractive market access provider and as such a terminal solution that could benefit many in the New England area."

All three SRVs will be equipped to store, transport and vaporize LNG, and to send out natural gas via the turret buoy which is connected to a sub-sea pipeline by means of a flexible riser.

The average send-out capacity of each SRV will be 400 million cubic feet per day with a peak capacity of approximately 750 million cubic feet per day.

The offshore terminal proposed by Neptune LNG will be located approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of the city of Gloucester and 22 miles (35 km) north east of Boston in 250 feet (80 m) water depth.

Tractebel LNG North America sees the proposed deepwater port terminal as a supplement to its existing onshore LNG terminal in Everett, Massachusetts, and the most efficient solution to meeting New England's growing demand for natural gas.

The estimated cost for the project, including the specially built LNG ships, a buoy system, and a connection to the offshore Algonquin HubLineSM pipeline, is approximately $900 million.

Neptune LNG anticipates the project's development phase, including regulatory and public consultation and evaluation, and a formal project application review, to take approximately 15-18 months.

If approved, construction of the deep water port is expected to take 36 months and start-up of commercial operations is expected in mid-2009. LNG supply will come from Tractebel LNG North America's growing portfolio of supply sources including its owning interests in the Atlantic LNG production plant in Trinidad.

The terminal is based on submerged turret buoy technology developed by APL of Norway.

"The buoy system has proven its reliability in very harsh weather conditions in the North Sea--one of the world's roughest offshore environments" explains Hoegh LNG senior VP Bruno Larsen.

The proposed deepwater port will be capable of mooring two LNG carriers by means of two submerged turret unloading buoys and thus ensuring that natural gas can be delivered in a continuous flow by overlap between arriving and departing LNG carriers.

An LNG ship will typically moor at the deepwater port for four to eight days, depending on LNG ship size, vaporizer throughput, and market demand.

Hoegh says the proposed Neptune terminal will have a low impact on the shoreline and coastal communities and provide a safe and reliable supply of natural gas. The need for onshore infrastructure is reduced and through the effective use of technology, the ability of the New England gas system to address regional demand will be fully leveraged.

"The SRV system provides a unique delivering method because it introduces an offshore terminal alternative that is safe, commercially competitive and environmentally friendly," says Bruno Larsen. "These low cost buoy terminals can more easily be sited at different locations and deliver natural gas when and where the customers most need the gas."